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<div class="timestamp">November 7, 2007</div>
<h1>
Senator Questioning Ministries on Spending
</h1>
<div class="byline">By <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/laurie_goodstein/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More Articles by Laurie Goodstein">LAURIE GOODSTEIN</a></div>
<div id="articleBody">
<p> Senator <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/charles_e_grassley/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Charles E. Grassley.">Charles E. Grassley</a>,
the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is
investigating six prominent evangelistic ministries to determine
whether they have illegally used donations to finance opulent
lifestyles. </p>
<p> Mr. Grassley said yesterday that he sent letters to the six
Christian ministries on Monday requesting documents to answer a long
list of questions about their compensation, housing allowances,
checking and savings accounts, cars, airplanes and overseas trips. They
have until Dec. 6 to respond.</p>
<p> The inquiry focuses on some of the flashiest preachers now popular
on television and the Internet, many of them proponents of the
prosperity gospel — that God will reward believers who open their
hearts and wallets. </p>
<p> Mr. Grassley, of Iowa, said in a telephone interview: "Jesus comes
into the city on a simple mule, and you got people today expanding his
gospel in corporate jets. Somebody ought to raise questions about is it
right or wrong."</p>
<p> These ministries are being investigated: </p>
<p> ¶The Rev. Creflo A. Dollar Jr. and his wife, Taffi, of World
Changers Church International, based in College Park, Ga., popular
prosperity preachers with churches and homes in New York City and
Georgia.</p>
<p> ¶Paula and Randy White, a dynamic young couple who started Without
Walls International Church and Paula White Ministries in Tampa, Fla.,
but who are now divorcing. Mr. Grassley wants them to document clothing
expenses and any cosmetic surgery from 2004 to the present.</p>
<p> ¶Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church, a showy faith healer
based in Grapevine, Tex., who holds large crusades around the world.
Mr. Hinn is being asked how he handles cash collected on his overseas
crusades and how much he spent on hotels and food for himself and his
staff members during layovers on his trips from 2001 to the present.</p>
<p>¶Joyce Meyer, who with her husband, David, runs Joyce Meyer
Ministries from Fenton, Mo., and who is popular especially with women
for her no-nonsense brand of self-help. Mr. Grassley wants her to
explain the "tax-exempt purpose" of purchases including a "commode with
marble top" bought for $23,000 for her headquarters.</p>
<p>¶Bishop Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in
Lithonia, Ga., a megachurch in the Atlanta suburbs with an active media
ministry.</p>
<p>¶Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Tex.</p>
<p>The ministries, although far larger and more diversified than the average church, are classified by the <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/i/internal_revenue_service/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about the Internal Revenue Service.">
Internal Revenue Service</a> as churches and do not have to file the I.R.S. 990 forms required for other nonprofit organizations.</p>
<p>Mr. Grassley's letter says that since these ministries are tax
exempt, contributions to them must be used for the "tax-exempt purposes
of the organizations." </p>
<p>If donations were diverted for personal use, that could violate the tax code.</p>
<p>Asked for a comment, four released statements yesterday saying that they planned to respond to the requests for information.</p>
<p>Mr. Hinn's ministry said that his legal counsel and board were
trying to determine the "best course of action," and would not respond
until they got more information.</p>
<p>There was no reply to a message left for Paula and Randy White, or a spokesman.</p>
<p>Mr. Dollar said that he would comply, but that he planned to consult
legal professors and scholars first. "The questions at hand are much
bigger than World Changers," he said, "as it could affect the privacy
of every community church in America."</p>
<p> Mr. Grassley said that he and Finance Committee staff members
focused on these ministries because they were "intrigued" by
investigative reports about many of them in local newspapers and on
television. They also received tips from watchdog groups like the
Trinity Foundation in Dallas and <a href="http://ministrywatch.com/" target="_">ministrywatch.com</a>.</p>
<p>"It centered on these six ministries," Mr. Grassley said, "but I
wouldn't want to say there's something magic about these six. It could
be seven or eight. Who knows, after we get these answers back, we might
decide we have to look at others."</p>
<div id="authorId"><p>Terry Aguayo contributed reporting.</p></div>
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<br><br>-- <br><br><br>Juanita Flores<br>Advocate for the Truth from Jesus<br>